pawnbroker

American  

[pawn-broh-ker] / ˈpɔnˌbroʊ kər /

noun

1. a person whose business is lending money at interest on personal, movable property deposited with the lender until redeemed.

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pawnbroker British  

/ ˈpɔːnˌbrəʊkə /

noun

1. a dealer licensed to lend money at a specified rate of interest on the security of movable personal property, which can be sold if the loan is not repaid within a specified period

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pawnbroking
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pawnbroker

First recorded in 1680–90; pawn ¹ + broker

Explanation

A pawnbroker is someone who owns a shop that loans people money in exchange for valuable items. If you want to hock your engagement ring, head to a pawnbroker! If you pawn your bike at a pawnbroker's shop (also called a pawnshop), you will leave with cash, but not quite as much as your bike is worth. To get it back, you'll have to pay back the money plus interest — and if you don't, the pawnbroker will eventually sell your bike to someone else. To pawn is to "give an object as security in exchange for money," and a broker is a "seller of other people's goods."

Example Sentences

In a busy 12-year span -- 1964 to 1976 -- Lumet directed 18 films, including "Fail-Safe," "The Pawnbroker," "The Group," "The Anderson Tapes," "Serpico," "Murder on the Orient Express," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Network."

From Reuters • Apr. 10, 2011

Over the course of his career, he guided his actors to 19 nominations, varying from Rod Steiger for The Pawnbroker to River Phoenix for Running on Empty.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2011

Many of his most famous pictures – The Pawnbroker, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and The Verdict – stand as tense, earthy morality plays.

From The Guardian • Apr. 9, 2011

In Illinois, the Pawnbroker Regulation Act governs the state’s approximately 225 stores.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2010

Four for a Penny, or Poor Robin's Character of an unconscionable Pawnbroker, and Ear-mark of an oppressing Tally-man; with a friendly Description of a Bum-bailey, and his merciless setting cur, or follower.

From Microcosmography or, a Piece of the World Discovered; in Essays and Characters by Earle, John